Insurance is an important part of everyone’s daily lives, but more so for people who use their vehicle for work on a regular basis.
We’re putting ourselves in more situations than most that could result in injury just by simply being on the road more than others. The odds are that if you’re a delivery or rideshare driver, you will get into an accident eventually. Whether it’s your fault or the fault of another, you want to make sure you’re covered.
But even more than just insurance for your vehicle, you want to make sure you’re covered in other ways, too. While Instacart doesn’t provide insurance for their delivery drivers or shoppers, they do partner with Stride and have other insurance initiatives to make sure you have options for all things insurance.
Delivery Driver Insurance
As mentioned above, Instacart doesn’t offer delivery driver insurance per se. You are responsible for your own insurance coverage as an independent contractor. This can be tricky because some car insurance companies will not cover you if you do work out of your car (like for delivery drivers) and may drop your coverage if they find out that you do that kind of work.
To learn more about getting delivery driver insurance, check out our article Delivery Driver Insurance: How It Works.
Some car insurance companies offer a rideshare endorsement if you want to do rideshare driving out of your personal vehicle. You’ll want to ask what is required to be covered for doing delivery out of your personal vehicle before you get started so you’re sure to be covered in an accident.
There are other car insurance companies that don’t offer any kind of coverage if you’re a delivery driver. If that’s the case, you’ll want to find one that will cover you.
Some markets may require commercial insurance coverage. Learn your state and local laws for what you need to be fully insured based on the gig work you choose to do.
Shopper Insurance
For their Shoppers, Instacart takes a slightly different approach. They do offer their Shoppers what they call Shopper Injury Protection for their full-service shoppers. This covers injuries that happen while actively shopping and delivering with Instacart.
It includes up to $1 million to cover medical expenses, disability payments, and survivor’s benefits for eligible dependents. Shoppers that are in-store only are covered through workers’ compensation for any workplace-related accidents.
Healthcare Subsidy (California Only)
In accordance with California law, delivery drivers in California are eligible for a healthcare subsidy. Drivers must provide proof of their healthcare enrollment in order to receive the subsidy. If you qualify, Instacart will pay a portion of your healthcare costs for as long as you’re actively participating in your healthcare coverage and actively working on the Instacart platform.
As a reminder, as stated earlier, Instacart does not provide healthcare insurance coverage for their Shoppers or drivers. You must carry your own health insurance before you can qualify for the subsidy.
This subsidy payment is available on a quarterly basis for Instacart shoppers who are averaging more than 15 hours per week on the platform. If you’re not sure, you can always track your progress toward earning the subsidy within your Instacart Shopper app. You’ll get an email if you’re eligible for that quarter’s subsidy payment.
Quarters begin on the first of January, April, July, and October each year. The eligibility email should come to you within the first two weeks of those months. Every time you receive one of those emails, you’ll have 15 days to respond with proof of your healthcare enrollment before a subsidy payment will be processed.
If you qualify and provide the proof required, when the subsidy payment is released, it will come to your Instacart account with your weekly earnings.
For Shoppers who average between 15 and 25 hours per week, you’ll be eligible for 50% of the average contribution in accordance with the Affordable Care Act. If you average over 25 hours per week, you’ll be eligible for 100%.
Please note that if you have insurance through another employer or Medicare or Medicaid, you will not be eligible for the subsidy.
Instacart encourages Shoppers to look into getting health insurance through Stride.
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Health Savings Account
Starship
In 2021, Instacart partnered with Starship to help Shoppers with obtaining and maintaining a Health Savings Account (HSA). An HSA can help you save money, tax-free, to help with healthcare expenses such as over-the-counter medication, copays and first aid. Money that you contribute to an HSA rolls over year-over-year. So, if you don’t use it, it’ll still be there for you next time you need it.
Stride Save
Stride Save is a no-fee savings account to help you save for health insurance, time off, emergency funds, and more. You can set savings goals and watch as you build your savings to meet them. You can even set up an auto-pay feature online with a Stride Save virtual Mastercard debit card.
Opening an account with Stride Save is free.
Dental Insurance
Again, through Stride, Instacart offers dental insurance plans. The dental insurance plans offered are accepted at over 300,000 locations across the globe. With the coverage provided, your cleanings and regular checkups are free once your plan begins.
